In A Year
by Kagome-reincarnation
Summary: In which the holidays are explored with the tidbits and the drama of the Kanda/Allen we all adore. Yaoi. Valentine's Day chapter up! Complete.
1. Valentine's Day

Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Hoshino-san.  
Warnings: This IS a MALE/MALE pairing, so if such things disturb you, or bother you in any way, you should stop reading.  
Summary: In which the holidays are explored with the tidbits and the drama of the Kanda/Allen we all love and adore. Yaoi. This will only be updated on holidays that _I _recognize. Which means that if I know it, I'll probably write it if I have time. Readers should mention closer holidays in reviews for faster updates.  
Next Update: Likely to be White Day, unless other, closer holidays are introduced to me.

**In A Year  
_Valentine's Day  
_**by: Kagome-reincarnation

* * *

Yuu Kanda didn't love. He had too many other things to do. He had _that person_ to track down and akuma to destroy and Noah to hunt. He had to, if called upon, go out on pointless and annoying missions, wreaking bits of havoc hear and there, undoubtedly causing damage to some of the buildings in the vicinity. 

He couldn't care less. His curse was still there, and his time was slowly running out. He didn't have time for trivial things such as love, or even affection. He had things that he needed to do, and no time to waste.

Mission after mission was completed successfully. He was reckless, often simply executing the akuma, or even just gathering information and seeking Innocence. Then everything changed.

Well, it wasn't much of a change, if one was to be honest. When the new Exorcist and boy, Allen Walker, entered the Black Order, he'd simply shrugged. It didn't matter to him. The boy would either die within six months or flee. There was no point in remembering his name. _Moyashi_; it became the parasite-type Innocence wielder's new nickname. Not anything affectionate, and not even a shortening of the name to something like 'Al.' Simply 'bean sprout' was good enough for the likes of another wishy-washy exorcist.

But the boy had stayed. He'd been brought back from the brink of death almost as many times as Yuu himself had in the few short months he'd been there. Kanda had shrugged again, not really caring. Perhaps the boy would become a bit more of a constant, like Lenelee, or even Lavi. A year passed.

As time passed, the ever cold-hearted Yuu Kanda slowly found himself relying on the white-haired boy more and more often. Soon, he was even able to have serious conversations with the boy outside of battle and tactics, and even aside from behavior and morals. Without arguing half-way through the said conversation.

Then, they were able to joke around, having adjusted to each other's pace. They were able to work like well-oiled gears in a carefully ticking clock.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

It was almost too careful. Like an intricate dance that they'd slowly learned. Soon, the jokes became old and new ones had to be made. New buttons were pushed and new death threats were issued. One can never stop learning about one's companion.

Then, after a particularly exhausting eight-hour spar with Allen, Yuu Kanda came to a realization. He didn't have time for love, but he didn't mind taking Allen with him, if he ever had enough information to go and search for _that_ person. It would slow him down horrendously- he was someone that moved more quickly alone- but it felt as if Allen was just in tune with him. He wasn't sure if he could bear to leave the white-haired boy behind.

"Shit." he cursed in the safety of the empty baths. "Shit. There's no way I can be in love with him. I've got other things to do." He sank deeper into the bath, leaning against one of the many small waterfalls that decorated the large, constantly moving heated bath. "Shit. _Moyashi_, you bastard. I'm not supposed to know this feeling!"

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick-tock. Tick. _

So absorbed in his thoughts, the elegant swordsman didn't see the white-haired boy he'd been thinking of slowly back away from the entrance of the baths before carefully picking his way to the showers.

Time passed, and Yuu still hadn't said anything to the white-haired boy. Inevitably, Kanda was sought about by Lenelee for another mission briefing. At least, that had been what she'd claimed. When he'd entered Komui's office, he didn't see Allen or Komui. When he heard the lock turning behind him, he felt only slightly betrayed as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What is this?" he demanded, glaring at the Chinese girl.

"This is a session of counseling." Lenelee said to him nonchalantly. She held up the key to leave the room. "You don't get this until you complete the session, and with my Innocence, the Dark Boots, your threats will be empty, since you won't be able to get to me."

Kanda didn't bother with a response, frustrated. Why did she deign it reasonable to torment him with such things? "What do you want?" he asked her pointedly.

She grinned, reminding him eerily of a Cheshire cat from a movie he no longer recalled. He mentally shook his head, getting the disturbing thought out of his mind.

"Well?" he pressed her gruffly. He had other things to do and other places to be.

He was so preoccupied thinking of what else he could be doing, he almost missed what she said.

"Whoa, what?" he blinked, sure he'd misheard her. She looked at him. It wasn't just any look either. It was the look that girls give a man when she knows he's been caught. Kanda shuddered.

"I asked you what you thought of Allen." she sang all too cheerily.

"He's my friend." Kanda said flatly, trying to close the subject and leave as soon as he could. Lenelee was touching upon a bad subject. One that he was almost too afraid of broaching. He'd done his best to keep his own attraction as private as possible, and he'd acted the same as he always had with the other cursed boy.

"And?" she prompted him, a glint entering her eyes.

"That's it." he said to her, frowning.

"Liar." she pouted at him, before grinning almost evilly. "If that was it, you wouldn't be clamming up right now."

"It's really none of your concern, Lenelee." he said to her, his frustration starting to show.

"Of course it is, Kanda!" she said, giving him that same look once more. "Especially when my room's only one floor above yours and carefully placed between you and Allen!"

Almost mischievously, she added the last part solemnly. "It's not like I'm deaf at night, you know."

Kanda blanched, before turning a bright, cheerfully bright red. "You- it- he-?!" he breathed in before glaring at her again. "You're lying!"

"From the look on your face, I think not." she said, smiling at him. "Good, now what're you going to do to further your aspirations to get into his pants?"

Kanda's blush, which had barely started to leave returned in full force. "Le-Lenelee…" He was shocked. Some of the things coming from her sounded… quite unlike things she'd say. Those lips- he'd thought they were innocent- were transferring things from her mind- he had liked to think it was carefully away from the gutter, fish tank, sewers, etc- that he hadn't thought possible.

"It's from my yaoi and shonen-ai collection." she said, knowing why he was so perturbed. "I've read enough of it to no longer turn red when such things are mentioned. I'm even getting used to talking about it myself. Anyways, this isn't about me. So talk."

Suddenly, Kanda felt like Buddha. Was this how the religious man had felt when he'd become the 'Enlightened One?' It made sense. Lenelee had a seventh sense for seeking out possible yaoi fantasies in her surroundings and obviously attempted to bring them to fruition. No, he wasn't counting wrong. The sixth sense was for when she knew her brother was down or when other things were happening that couldn't possibly be good.

"I don't know. I'm thinking about just confessing and jumping him right then and there." he said recklessly, watching his fellow exorcist.

"Don't do that!" she scolded. "He'll never talk to you after screaming 'rape' about a million times! Why not try giving him something special? You do know what today is, right?"

He blinked. "No." he said bluntly.

She smacked herself in the forehead. "Of course. I should've expected that one, it being you. It's Valentine's Day, Yuu."

He frowned at the use of his first name, but latched onto the first part of her statement instead. "And? I'm obviously not female."

"Does it matter? You need to get the relationship started _somehow_!" she encouraged him.

He sighed. "I have nothing to give him."

She shook her head. "So make something. Go buy something. Cook something. You know he likes food, and particularly loves sweets."

She started to push him to the door, pausing only to unlock and open it. Shoving him out completely, she said, "It's not that bad, Kanda. He might like you back, too. From what I'm seeing, he is, anyways."

He wondered what time it was. Glancing at a nearby grandfather clock- why did it seem so familiar?- he continued down the hall, realizing that the day would be over in two short hours. It was late at night, now- almost ten, but he still had two hours.

He sighed.

_Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock._

Gift in hand, he rapped on Allen's door. He heard a muffled thump and winced, assuming that the younger boy had fallen from his already small bed.

"Hruh…?" the boy managed, hauling his door open and sticking his head out. He blinked a couple of times and straightened himself out. "Kanda? What're you doing here?"

"Er…" the Japanese exorcist wondered what he should say. In the end, he decided to be simple and blunt. As emotionless as he could be to remove himself from the situation.

"I'm in love you with, so I got you a Valentine's Day present." he said, blushing, despite his attempts to keep his expression neutral. He handed the gift to Allen, and made to turn, but Allen halted him.

"I'm sorry, Kanda." the boy said, a sad look settling on his face. "I can't accept this."

_Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock._

"But-" Kanda had never imagined this could happen. "Why?"

"I can't love you back." the boy said, carefully handing the wrapped gift back to Kanda before quickly shutting the door in the raven-haired teen's face.

The exorcist in the hall fell against the white-haired boy's door, leaning back against it, before slumping forward, hurt and trying to understand what had happened.

Little did he know that on the opposite side of the door, the boy he'd just been rejected by was slumped over, crying silent tears of sorrow. He'd never wanted to hurt Kanda. He _loved_ Kanda. Too much to _want_ to hurt him. But now they were both hurt.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._


	2. White Day

Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Hoshino-san.  
Warnings: This IS a MALE/MALE pairing, so if such things disturb you, or bother you in any way, you should stop reading.  
Summary: In which the holidays are explored with the tidbits and the drama of the Kanda/Allen we all love and adore. Yaoi. This will only be updated on holidays that _I _recognize. Which means that if I know it, I'll probably write it if I have time, or care. Readers should mention closer holidays in reviews for faster updates.  
Next Update: Likely to be Easter, unless other, closer holidays are introduced to me.

**In A Year  
_White Day  
_**by: Kagome-reincarnation

Anguish consumed him. He'd been rejected. He didn't know what to do. Kanda hadn't considered that Allen would reject him, and the few subconscious thoughts he'd had on the matter had been swept away by Lenalee's tirade.

_Tick... Tock..._ _Tick... Tock..._

And yet, he sat against the one door he'd wanted so much to be open; the very door that Allen had slammed shut so quickly. His thoughts converged, following twisting paths and sharp turns, at times completely turning one-eighties, but in the end, he was led to a single, innocent question. _Why?_

Several hours passed, and he sat there, staring at the guard rail, mind blank, body numb. Finally, he wondered if Allen were sleeping yet. And it was thinking of Allen that finally got him to move once more. Moyashi _wouldn't want me to darken his door_, he thought, sad eyes closed in an almost-acceptance.

As it was, he might have been rejected, but he still had his pride. He wouldn't speak of the incident. He would forget all of it- the incident itself, the affection for the white-haired boy, and the torn expression on the other cursed boy's face as he'd realized what Kanda was there for.

At least, that's what he'd _resolved_ to do.

In the beginning, it had been easy. The two hadn't been able to look each other in the eyes, so Komui, sensing something was off, separated them, constantly sending them on different missions, and trying to time things so that they rarely saw each other. Of course, after a time, Lavi had complained at being partnered with the same person for so long, and Komui had rearranged things so that when Kanda was on a mission, Allen wasn't and vice versa. This had worked for almost two weeks, but in the end, the one who'd gotten his hopes so high cornered him once more.

"What's going on?" she demanded, obviously not happy with the situation.

"Nothing." he'd responded shortly, wanting to take his leave of her. He'd only just returned from a rather grueling mission, and he very much wanted to take a shower to cleanse himself, or even a bath, if he had the time. As it was, he'd yet to report to Komui as the regulations dictated.

"You're lying." Lenalee glared at him, irked.

"It's none of your business." he said to her, his beautiful eyes and gruff voice stone cold. He gave her a glare of his own, sure to stop her. He couldn't help but feel a little animosity towards her. After all, while she might not have meant to, she'd led him to believe that his own love would fall through easily and well.

The Chinese exorcist backed down, sensing that he was both hurt and angry. Still, she couldn't stop the few words that escaped from her lips, sure to entice the other man.

"Allen cries every night."

Kanda stopped cold, unsure of what to do. What did she even _want_ him to do? Allen wasn't his problem any more. He'd been rejected, simple and plain. Nonetheless, there was the traitorous voice within him that called to him, begging him to listen to her words. It wanted to know why the pure, chaste boy was upset enough to cry, and, moreover, why he was doing so every night.

Seeing that his anger had dissipated and his attention was focused on her, for all he'd turned away, she continued on, feeling that the danger had moved on.

"It's really sad, you know?" While she normally might have enjoyed teasing Kanda, her feelings for Allen were sincere. She thought of him very much as a good friend, possibly even a little brother. The fact that he was hurting bothered her. Stabbed at her, even.

But she knew it would hurt Kanda even more. After all, if a clock loses its timing once, it'll lose it twice. Three times. Four times, even, and many more times after.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

Time that Kanda had thought he'd frozen began to move again and he _hurt_. He wanted to help the subject of his attraction, even if said person hated him.

The thought of Allen hating him jerked him from his reverie. He didn't want the boy to hate him. Allen was precious, even if he denied Kanda's existence. _Still, hating me would be better than ignoring me,_ Kanda mused. He couldn't handle being completely ignored. Still, Allen had been crying.

"Wait a minute, how do you even _know_ that he's been crying?" he demanded of her, eyebrows drawn together in a frown as he looked down at her. He was curious, though. Had she developed a habit of spying on the white-haired boy from some crack in a wall or another? He mentally shuddered, hoping she hadn't. Bad things would ensue.

She hesitated a moment, biting her lower lip before finally giving him an answer. "His room is on the floor just above mine. I know he tries to be quiet, but we've got a vent between the two floors, and it echoes _loudly_."

The Japanese exorcist sighed, shoulders slowly relaxing from their stiff position. "And he cries every night." he muttered, irked. "Does he say why? Or even over what?"

She seemed as if she were going to respond, before closing her mouth. It felt like an eternity until she managed to get the words out. "No. He never says anything. He just cries quietly by himself." she finally said.

Kanda narrowed his eyes at her. "Now, I thought you didn't want me lying to you. It works in reverse as well."

Lenalee was already shaking her head. "There's a reason he cries Kanda, but I can't tell it to you, because it doesn't make sense."

"If it doesn't make sense, you should be able to tell me." the Japanese boy reasoned. "And you must've thought there was something I could do about his tears if you've come to tell me this."

"I.. I'm not so sure." Lenalee admitted. "I don't know how to help him, but I know you can do it. Helping him, I mean. I don't think he'd respond to me or Lavi if we tried to help."

The nineteen-year-old made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. _So what do you want me to _do?! he wanted to shout at her, shaking her shoulders at the same time. He restrained himself.

"I'm sorry." she said, voice small. She hadn't thought things through at all, only worried about the boy that slept over her room. "But he's hurt, and you're avoiding him like the plague. It's affecting everyone else, too, you know."

The long-haired man blinked, surprised. "What?" the word came forth without his permission. Still, it was true that he wanted to know, so he didn't bother taking it back.

"It's true!" Lenalee assured him. "Jerry's always worried because Allen's appetite is falling off, and Lavi's always tired now, since he's either working with you or Allen constantly, and when he _does_ get time off, Bookman has him reading things to memorize. Even_ nii-san_ is being overworked trying to manage your schedules so they don't collide."

_Even... Komui, eh?_ Kanda exhaled, thinking.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick-tock. Tick. Tock._

"What should I do?" he inquired. He was dubious about asking _her_ about it- the rejection that he'd been given using her advice was still a fresh wound bleeding- but he had no choice. He certainly wouldn't turn to _Lavi_ for help on this.

He didn't know that the red-head was asking Allen the very same question. As Lenalee led him away, to a less public location to share her thoughts, Lavi was watching Allen eat his large dinner.

The white-haired boy was known to have an enormous appetite, but lately, his appetite had fallen to huge, and then to extra large, before falling to simply large. While he might not have worried about it normally, the time period of the decrease in his friend's appetite was simply alarming. A stomach didn't simply contract in two easy weeks, and they both knew it.

"What should I do?" the red-head repeated his question.

"What do you mean?" Allen asked, confused. He took another bite.

"Something's wrong with you, and I'm your friend. What should I do?" Lavi explained. "Is there someone harassing you? Maybe you're just not getting enough sleep? What's _wrong_?"

Allen chuckled, trying to assure his friend that all was well.

Irritated with his attempts to worm his way out of getting help, Lavi scolded him. "There are _circles_ around your eyes. You almost look like the damned _Panda_, and you haven't been eating right, and you're not as active. You walk around without any destination- I've seen you walk in circles around the guard rail of floors without even trying to get anywhere! You don't laugh as much, either!"

Allen blinked, surprised. Had he wrought such a change in himself?

"You're getting thinner, and you're starting to turn even _more_ pale, if that's even possible!" Lavi continued his lecture. "I can tell you haven't even been paying attention to yourself since you haven't been training in so long, and you haven't even _touched_ steaks!"

The older boy took a breathe to continue, but Allen held up a hand, smiling at the red-head. "There's really nothing wrong, you know." he said simply.

"_Bullshit!_" Lavi roared, angry. People from nearby tables jumped, turning in surprise or shock at the sudden loud voice. Lavi's voice could really _carry_.

Allen winced at the loudness, stopping his older friend. "Alright, alright!" he cried out, worried that Lavi would attract even more attention with his next onslaught of words. "I'll tell you, okay? Just... Wait for me to finish all of this." He gestured at his food.

Lavi nodded, face red. He hadn't meant to become so loud, but it had happened all on its own. He mentally sighed. This was why Bookman wouldn't give him the position yet. Still, Lavi was rather content with where he was as is. He had no need for face paint, anyways.

Still, Allen ended up giving Lavi the entire explanation. He'd told his friend everything, excluding some facts here and there. Lavi didn't need to know why he'd rejected Kanda, but the red-head had still been puzzled over why Allen had rejected Kanda.

In the end, Allen fibbed, saying that he loved Kanda, but it simply wasn't to be. He'd begged Lavi not to say anything, and Lavi agreed, swearing to swallow a thousand needles if he broke his word.

_Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock._

Time passed, and when White Day came, Kanda and Allen remained in their rooms the entire day. Neither of them wanted to face the other. Allen remained hidden because the festivities hurt him. The decorations reminded him of what he would be giving to the jailer of his own heart had he not so cruelly turned him away.

Kanda just refused to come out. White Day reminded him of Valentine's Day, and it didn't help that he had nothing to look forward to, either.

White Day passed with the other members of the Black Order enjoying themselves, though many of them wondered at the absence of the two exorcists. Looks of knowing were exchanged, as well as gifts, and there were whispers and rumors of what might have happened.

Lavi had joined in on the festivities, as well as Lenalee and her brother. Komui had quickly been coerced into doing paperwork by Reever, leaving Lenalee to take care of the arrangements and to oversee the party itself, but Lavi left the festive crowds at midday, hiding behind piles of books in the library.

"What can I _do_ for them?" he pondered. While he'd kept his word to Allen and not said a word to anyone, Lenalee had shared Kanda's story with him, giving him a bit more information.

After a time of pouring over books and simply leaning back to think, an idea struck him. As the grin of the Cheshire Cat which Lenalee had previously held became fixed on his face, he grabbed some sheets of paper and a pen before beginning to write out his plan. With the cooperation of the Chinese siblings and some others within the Black Order, he was hoping the plan would fall through.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._


	3. Easter

Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Hoshino-san.  
Warnings: This IS a MALE/MALE pairing, so if such things disturb you, or bother you in any way, you should stop reading.  
Summary: In which the holidays are explored with the tidbits and the drama of the Kanda/Allen we all love and adore. Yaoi. This will only be updated on holidays that _I_ recognize. Which means that if I know it, I'll probably write it if I have time, or care. Readers should mention closer holidays in reviews for faster updates.  
Next Update: Likely to be Children's Day, unless other, closer holidays are introduced to me.

**In A Year****  
**_**Easter  
**_by: Kagome-reincarnation

Two days after White Day, or the sixteenth of March, Lavi had convinced Komui to hold a treasure hunt in the Easter festivities. It was no easy feat, seeing as he had to get through Lenalee's protests and persuade the others to hurry onward with their paperwork. Then he'd had to convince Lenalee to get Allen and Kanda involved with the event as he went to explain the situation with Reever. He was hoping to get out of said experience in one piece, preferably alive and breathing.

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

When he'd gone into the supporter's office, he found the man far more agreeable than he'd thought he'd be.

"The lack of energy in that boy has been getting to all of us." he'd said. Both knew he was referring to Allen – Kanda was only energetic when it involved Akuma, and even then, they weren't entirely sure if they could call that _energetic_.

"So you agree?"

"Allen's normally so cheerful – it's strange to see him going about the halls so listlessly." Reever admitted.

Lavi nodded knowingly, before frowning suddenly. He sighed. "I'm not being a very good Bookman." He muttered under his breathe.

"Sorry, I missed that." the scientist had been immersed in his paperwork once more.

Lavi shook his head, the default grin returning to his face. "Nothing."

_Too late now,_ he thought. _I'll just be careful not to run into the Panda._

"Right. Just let me know if you need help, then." Reever said dismissively as he disappeared behind yet another pile of paperwork. The mountain grew by the minute, not the hour.

Lavi grinned at the man's head, shaking his own as he left the office. Now, he just had to wait for word from Lenalee. He had nearly reached his own room when he came upon a curious seen. It seemed his partner in crime had found Allen sooner than he'd thought. And they'd both forgotten to close the door.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick-tock._

"You'll be there, right?" Lenalee seemed anxious as she requested Allen's presence.

The cursed boy frowned. They were in his room, the door hanging wide open. "Why?" he asked, curious, but not particularly wanting to go. For one thing, he felt like he didn't belong there – he wasn't exactly religious – and for another, he still didn't want to see _him_.

Allen Walker might be one of many Walkers, but it didn't mean that he doesn't pause at moments and circle around puddles.

"It'll be fun!" she tried.

His frown grew. "I'm sure it will, but I might get a mission that day."

The statement was actually quite honest. His eye had been roving, searching for Akuma to destroy and to save. He was sure that if he didn't destroy some, and soon, that the pangs of pain would start. He didn't need another reason to hide.

Lenalee placed a hand at her chin before looking down at him – he was short as is, and since he was sitting on his bed, and she'd just vacated her chair, he was much shorter than she. As it was, he had a feeling of impending doom.

He heard his door close and nearly winced when the lock turned. Doom was _definitely_ coming.

"Allen, my friend…" the Asian teen began, voice firm. "You know how much my brother, Komui, loves me, right?"

He nodded, wide eyes fixed on her.

"What do you think he'd do to you if I said you kissed me?"

Suddenly, an image of a horribly squashed, tortured, and gasping for breathe white-haired teen entered his mind.

He twitched quite visibly. "Would you really?" he asked, hesitant.

"With crocodile tears." she told him, relishing the look of fear that crossed his face. It was just as well. She didn't plan on taking any answer but an affirmative.

"Fine." he relented, still twitching slightly as the image in his mind was stabbed with a rather dull looking spear, the girl before him standing behind him as his torturer shouted at him.

"Great!" her aura of doom instantly became that of the normal, cheery feel she often gave off. "See you there!"

The lock turned once more, letting the door swing open, then shut.

Allen sighed, spirit deflated. He held his head in his hands, far too weary for his years before falling back onto the firmness of his bed.

Staring up at the ceiling, the only words he spoke were that of a broken-hearted, "Damn it."

_Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.  
_

Just outside the door, oblivious to the words of the trapped teen she'd left behind it, Lenalee winked at the carrot top, telling him that Allen was sure to be there for the treasure hunt he had planned. He smiled at her in return.

"I've got to convince Kanda now, and I'll be done. Make sure you get everything set up!" Lenalee told him, all too happily. The threat of her brother always worked.

"Will do." Lavi grinned, before heading up the stairs. He still had to make a few more arrangements with Komui before he'd be satisfied with it all.

_Tick-tock-tick. Tock-tick-tock._

Just six days later, everything had been arranged to his liking. The treasures and prizes had been hidden, and the exorcists and finders had been partnered up. Allen, of course, was partnered with Kanda. The point of the event was so that Lenalee and Lavi could force the two to spend some time together to at least be civil, if not talk things out.

The stage had been set, and it was up to the boys, now, to play their parts.

_Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock._

The day had finally come, and things were happening. Certainly, there was nothing of the religious sort. There were no prayers heard, and there were no Bibles to be seen. Rather, there were multitudes of members of the Black Order moving from place to place, hunting for treats. They'd all been partnered up, and assigned floors to search.

The floor that had been reserved for the exorcists was the very top floor. It was a place that both Allen and Kanda had never ventured to before and it was rather difficult to navigate. The entire floor was, it seemed, built in the fashion of a maze. Neither of them knew that Lavi and Lenalee had specialized their floor in order to force them to finish long after the others. Kanda had been given the map, and Allen had received the basket.

The silence on the way up was uncomfortable. Allen wasn't sure of what to say to Kanda, and he was very much afraid of angering the Japanese boy. Kanda, however, wasn't being as considerate and was obviously irritated. He didn't hide it, and it showed visibly in the dark cloud that seemed to envelop him.

While Allen might normally have told him to get a grip on himself, the white-haired boy was now too timid to. It was strange how much change had been wrought in him, and perhaps Kanda would have been concerned, but the taller exorcist refused to even look at the boy, expecting him to follow behind him obediently.

Much to his surprise, that's exactly what Allen did. It took him until the third egg to notice. He'd just picked it up and turned around to tell Allen to put it in their basket, when he'd noticed that the boy's confident walk wasn't there. He simply held the basket out to Kanda to place the egg in, but didn't look up. In fact, Kanda was surprised he didn't trip. From the few glances backwards that he'd gotten in, he realized that Allen had been watching his heels to know which way to walk.

_What…?_ He was confused. What had happened? Then he remembered what Lenalee had told them and mentally sighed. The boy was more trouble than he was worth, but he couldn't help but want to fix things anyways. Even if Allen still disliked him.

"What's wrong with you?" he demanded, frowning at the small teenager.

Allen's head shot up to look Kanda in the eye before he suddenly flinched and look away. He'd nearly let his habit of looking people straight in the eye catch up to him. It wasn't a bad thing, but he was afraid of seeing what would be in _Kanda_'s eyes.

The Japanese's frown grew ever so slightly. "What's the matter with you, bean sprout? Can't even look up anymore?"

Allen didn't react. Kanda was growing even more worried now. Even when doing something else, Allen would usually respond to his taunts. Just as he was about to ask again, the boy looked up. Eyes closed with a wide smile on his face, he simply said, "Let's go."

Kanda was taken aback, both by the sudden change in the boy's reaction, and then by the fact that Allen had abruptly turned and taken the lead. He mused for a moment, before realizing that the boy was nowhere in sight.

"Allen?" he called, almost cautiously. "Allen?"

There was no reply. He cursed loudly, before taking his map out and tracing their location. Judging from the direction the boy had gone… There was a variety of different paths that branched from there.

He cursed again, before hurrying after Allen, not wanting to lose him.

Of course, there was the matter of Allen as well. He'd not gone yet moved fifty meters and was already lost. While he _did_ hear Kanda, he didn't want to see him. He'd already decided that he'd try to find his own way out. Of course, that would be horribly painful, seeing as he didn't have a map, much less a sense of direction. Still, he'd resolved to do it.

**V**

"Allen? Allen!" Kanda's voice was growing hoarse. He'd been searching and calling for nearly three hours now. Their youngest exorcist had yet to be found. "Dammit! Where are you?!"

He felt bad for being inquisitive now. It had been for his own damned good, but the boy had up and disappeared on him. He couldn't help but worry even more. _Dammit!_ he cursed. He'd long since given up walking and jogging - now he was plain out sprinting, searching for signs of the boy. He'd found several strands of hair a while back, indicating that he was at least moving in the right direction.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

Allen tripped for the umpteenth time. It was normally a rare occurrence, but he was very much off kilter today. He'd managed to find a couple of eggs on his own, but he still hadn't found the exit. He guessed that Kanda had already left long before. After all, they'd gotten three eggs together, and he'd gotten two. Kanda had probably already found the rest - there were supposed to be ten - and left. Allen didn't blame him.

His head held down, he sighed. He slid down against one of the walls to sit at the bottom. He set the eggs down carefully next to him before hugging his knees to his chest. He just wanted to stop for a bit. To stop and to not think, not move, and to not feel. He especially wanted the last one. Just the thought that Kanda had left had hurt. Still, he'd turned down Kanda's offer of romanticism for a good reason. At least, he felt it was a good reason, anyways. It made sense to him.

Of course, Lavi and Lenalee and the others might've said differently, but no one but himself knew exactly why he'd turned Kanda down. It was a simple reason, really. Obvious, even. Kanda had things he wanted to do. He had to find that _one_ person - Allen wasn't sure if it was a girl or a boy - and he had goals to reach. Allen would likely only be in his way. Kanda was too gentlemanly to just drop a lover if something important happened, and Allen refused to risk letting his long time love being hurt.

It made sense to him. Maybe it was selfish of him to want to keep Kanda safe, but it was something he wanted to do. And now that they all knew for sure that he was the Noah's target, Kanda would be in danger of being close to him anyways. _I can't let him be hurt,_ he thought. He wasn't stupid. He knew that Kanda wasn't his to command or anything like that. But... That didn't mean that he wouldn't be worried, or even emotionally hurt, so he knew that keeping Kanda out of the greater harm's way - away from the Noah and the Earl - was better. If he was lucky, by the time that they made their next appearances, Kanda would be exhausted.

Still, thoughts of Kanda and keeping him safe didn't _truly_ make him feel any better, despite how much he lied to himself to say it did. He'd been so absorbed in his thoughts about the man, he hadn't realized when the older one had actually appeared.

"Hey!" the Japanese boy had growled at him.

"Eh?!" Allen had responded with the expected wide-eyed shock. He was brought face to knee with Kanda's knee. For a moment, he wondered if the Asian was going to kick him. "K-Kan...da?" The European couldn't believe his eyes.

_Why is he still here...?_ he wondered to himself, even as he said: "I thought you left already!"

Kanda scowled. "Like I'd just leave you here. I know your sense of direction, you bean sprout."

Allen simply gazed up at Kanda, still surprised. "...Oh." he murmured to himself. He smiled broadly. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah." Kanda dragged the boy to his feet and watched as the white-haired teenager bent over to pick up the eggs that he'd found. He looked away, a light blush staining his cheeks. He was still very much attached to Allen. He'd never quite fallen out of love with the other cursed teenager, and somehow, he was comfortable with it, even if there was a hurt there that he'd never really experienced before.

"Come on." he told him. "I've got the rest of the eggs, so let's get going." They'd just pretend that things were alright and they weren't in love. It wasn't the best of solutions, but it was _a_ solution.

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

That night, when Lenalee went to bed, she was quite satisfied when she didn't hear the usual cries from the vent between her room and Allen's. She guessed that he was sleeping peacefully, which meant that Kanda likely was as well.


	4. All Fools' Day

Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Hoshino-san.  
Warnings: This IS a MALE/MALE pairing, so if such things disturb you, or bother you in any way, you should stop reading.  
Summary: In which the holidays are explored with the tidbits and the drama of the Kanda/Allen we all love and adore. Yaoi. This will only be updated on holidays that _I _recognize. Which means that if I know it, I'll probably write it if I have time, or care. Readers should mention closer holidays in reviews for faster updates.  
Next Update: Please thank buchouslvr for reminding me of April Fools' Day. The next update is likely to be Children's Day on May 5, unless other, closer holidays are introduced to me.

**In A Year  
_All Fools' Day  
_**by: Kagome-reincarnation

When Yuu Kanda woke, it was a very normal morning - more pleasant that it would've been a month ago, anyways. After all, now he and Allen were on speaking terms once more. They both acknowledged that Kanda was still very much in love with Allen, but Allen ever suggested that anything would come of it, carefully locking away anything that would so much as hint that he also loved the Japanese exorcist. Still, they'd decided to put their relationship on hiatus. It was an unspoken agreement to pretend that Kanda had never confessed to Allen, and that their divided time had never occurred. They would remain friends until Allen surrendered his mind to his heart, or until the object of Kanda's affections changed. Things had been gradually getting better at the order, until one day - that is, the normal morning that Kanda had rather been enjoying before Lavi thoroughly ruined it.

You see, Kanda took care of himself - to an extent. He bathed, ate, exercised, and slept. However, he was also someone that would just as soon as use soap on his hair instead of shampoo, and almost just as likely to simply use water without any other type of solution, of only because it was quicker. Of course, when such luxuries were available, he partook in them just as easily as he sliced apart Level One akumas.

Lately, though, Allen had made it a point to get and maintain a constant supply of shampoo and conditioner for him, so his hair had grown far silkier than it had been before. While the change in texture didn't really matter to him, he reveled in the gesture itself. After all, it was _Allen_ who had done, and was doing, something for _him_.

So early each morning he was at the headquarters, he started his day off with a nice soak in the terraced baths that the order had before washing his long hair. It was almost time consuming, but Kanda was ever the efficient person, so he somehow managed to get a good night's sleep, _and_ to wake, soak, wash, and _still_ get to the breakfast commons before anyone else. The very idea drove some of the finders and other exorcists crazy, which was always amusing to watch.

But today wasn't a good day for Kanda, and as he left the baths, a bucket swung from the floor above on what looked to be a string and thoroughly covered him in laundry bleach. He frowned as he carefully wiped some of the liquid from his face so he could open his eyes carefully before checking his belongings. He's suspicions were confirmed - they were also entirely soaked. When he inhaled, he realized it was bleach. White, laundry bleach, in fact, which was normally used on clothes. Scowling, he shouted up, "Bleach is for laundry, not people!"

As it was, while the enraged shout made him feel better, he still had to clean himself off again. He lamented the loss of time that this would cause, before remembering what the bleach would to do his hair and belongings. He wasn't worried about his skin since it wouldn't stick, but his hair was a completely different story. Especially since it was black. It wasn't necessary to worry for his clothes since he was wearing his uniform - he'd have Komui get him a spare - but the hair would make him a laughingstock. With an angry cry of dismay, he hastily retreated back into the showers.

Concerned as he was for his hair, he still recognized the strangely colored solution that he'd squirted from the bottle that was his shampoo - it turned out to be what looked like his shampoo mixed with what seemed to be bright blue hair dye. Scowling, he rinsed his hair out and emptied his shampoo bottle. After the bottle was emptied to his satisfaction, he set it aside and washed his hair again - with soap. He rinsed it and repeated the process. It took a bit before he was finally forced to realize that there was nothing more he could do; his hair was very much discolored. Thankfully, it was more noticeable at the top and not many people were tall enough to get the full view, though he'd have to worry about those on floors above him that were opposite his own position.

He swore, and loudly, when he realized he'd have to wear his casual clothes instead of his work clothes. His uniform, usually dark, had been stained white, and his spares were in the wash. He'd very much forgotten about it.

_I _would _choose a time like this to get my clothes laundered,_ he scowled to himself as he stepped into his pants. Since they'd been underneath the uniform, they'd gotten away quite safely, so he'd deemed them safe enough to wear. He winced on his way out as he caught sight of himself in the mirror.

He had to stop by his room to drop of his now useless things, so he figured he might as well walk down with Allen. Irked, he had yet another unpleasant realization. He had no shirts to wear. He'd had plenty of shirts in the beginning, when he'd first joined the order, but as time had passed, he'd begun to get more and more used to his uniform. Since he never knew what he'd be doing or what or when, and he was always to be a walking target, he began to wear his uniform more often than he wore casual clothing. The number of shirts he owned had decreased, and the last one that he had was too damaged to even bother wearing - it was something he'd considered throwing away many times, but in he end, he'd decided to use it as a rag to clean his room with from time to time - wiping up dust and the like.

He mentally sighed. He'd have to ask Allen for a shirt, since he knew that the younger teen had them. Or Lavi. It depended on who he ran into next.

With that thought, he couldn't help but frown. Who would dare to attempt such a thing? Or rather, who would succeed at it? As it was, this automatically took all of the numerous finders out of the scope he was narrowing down on. After all, they had a separate area - the terraced baths and the showers and such that he'd exited from was reserved for exorcists only. Not even Komui or Reever had access there. Because it had been maintained by a mixture of alchemy and science, there was not even the need for a mechanic.

He frowned, counting the exorcists that would do such a thing in his mind. None of the Generals were present. If anything, the only people that had been there for the last couple of days had been Lenalee, Lavi, Allen, Krory, and Miranda. Of course, Miranda and Crowly had both been dispatched last night, so he took them from his list. Allen wouldn't do it, if only because it was he that took indirect care of Kanda's hair - he'd likely be unhappy with the damage.

Lenalee... she wouldn't do that. She cared too much, and she, too, knew the plight of having too much hair. He growled out loud as he realized who that left.

_I should have known!_ he scowled, stomping through the halls. Finally, he'd made it to their corridor. He rapped on his hair care-supplier's door.

There was a muffled, "Come in!" and following the words, he did so, only to see Allen carefully tying back his own pale hair.

The boy blinked, before grinning at him. "Well, isn't this a surprise? What do you need, Kanda?"

Kanda sighed, a smile of his own reaching across his face. Running a hand through his long, untied, and still wet hair, he admitted the problem: "I kinda need to borrow a shirt. Is that alright?"

Allen frowned. "A shirt?" He looked uncomfortable. "Er... Don't you have any?"

"Actually, no. I've got to go buy some - my last shirt is quite destroyed right now."

"Oh. Er... Will they fit?"

"Who knows? But any size of a shirt would do me well right now."

"Or, right. Er... Sure then, I suppose." the silver haired boy waved at the closet. "Help yourself."

Kanda grinned. "Thanks."

"Where's your uniform?"

"Lavi."

"What?" Allen blinked.

"Lavi got to it."

"Oh. You, too?"

It was Kanda's turn to blink. "What do you mean? What'd he do to you?"

Allen blushed. "He... Got a few rather embarrassing pictures of me just before I woke up." In an effort to change the direction of Lavi's misdeeds, he commented on Kanda's hair. "I'm guessing he mixed the shampoo with bleach?"

Kanda shook his head. "No, he dumped a bucket of it on me. That's why my uniform is currently useless. I'm just lucky that I noticed he'd mixed the shampoo with blue hair dye the second time around. Now that I think of it, why didn't I just use your shampoo again...?"

Allen raised an eyebrow. "My shampoo?"

Kanda shrugged, finally deciding on a shirt and pulling it from the closet. He held it against himself, and yanked it over his head. It was a black shirt, medium in size. It was a bit of a tight fit, but it fit nonetheless. He sighed in relief as he pulled his cold hair out of the back. Deciding that letting the water from his hair soak into the shirt was a bad idea, he tied it up.

The cursed boy shook his head. "You know why Lavi's doing this, right?"

Kanda responded with a blank look. "You mean he _needs_ a reason to cause trouble?"

Allen nodded at Kanda's comment, agreeing with him before remembering that he was trying to explain something. "Er, look at the calendar, Kanda."

Kanda did so, before frowning. "April first." He blinked. "What about it?"

"All Fools' Day, Kanda."

"What?" Kanda blinked, confused. He'd known that something happened on April first, but he'd thought it was something reasonable. "He's pulling pranks because it's All Fools' Day?"

Allen nodded. "That's the point of the day."

"I see." Allen gulped when he saw the spread of the rather predatory smile on Kanda's face. "Thank you. I'll return this to you later."

"Er... If you've got an idea, I'll help. I need to get him back myself."

Kanda's smile widened. "Oh, that'd be perfect."

And it was a means to an end. Only two hours later, those who Lavi had pranked got their revenge. It was quite surprising, really, just how many people he'd managed to get. Of course, the vicious rebound was even more amazing, but Allen and Kanda couldn't help but agree that it was quite a feat when they watched him running away from the masses once more.

Their own revenge had been rather simple - they'd locked their friend out of his room, giving everyone else instructions to keep him from entering their own rooms. Lavi would have no respite the entire day. As it was, Allen still asked Jerry to add lots of spice to Lavi's food. Jerry, whose precious dishes had nearly been broken by Lavi in his prank, was more than happy to do so.

Kanda had asked Komui to keep all the doors other than the high security and bed room doors unlocked. So when Allen and Kanda finally cornered Lavi, the red haired exorcist was very much frightened. They'd only given him looks promising pain, before grinning.

"All Fools' Day, Lavi." Allen said, clapping the boy on the shoulder.

"Idiot." Kanda allowed, before walking away.

Lavi sighed in relief. He started to stand, intending to follow his friends, only to find he couldn't. "Er... hey?"

But the two were no longer close enough to hear his worried call. The exorcist twisted, trying to see what had happened. He blanched when he realized that he'd sat in a puddle of quick drying heavy duty glue. He hadn't even noticed, though he supposed he could credit the exorcist uniform for that. As he squirmed, trying to free himself, he found that he was entirely stuck.

Suddenly, all the doors on the floor opened, just as the clock struck noon. Crowds of angry, previously pranked finders started moving towards him, Komui in the lead.

"Um, hi, guys."

"Get him!"

"Help!"

And down several flights of stairs, Allen and Kanda couldn't help but relinquish their restrained laughter when they heard the screams.


	5. Children's Day

Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Hoshino-san.  
Warnings: This IS a MALE/MALE pairing, so if such things disturb you, or bother you in any way, you should stop reading.  
Summary: In which the holidays are explored with the tidbits and the drama of the Kanda/Allen we all love and adore. Yaoi. This will only be updated on holidays that _I _recognize. Which means that if I know it, I'll probably write it if I have time, or care. Readers should mention closer holidays in reviews for faster updates.  
Next Update: Next update is likely to be Mothers' Day, unless other, closer holidays are introduced to me.

**In A Year  
_Children's Day  
_**by: Kagome-reincarnation

On the third of April, Allen and Kanda were both sent on missions. Allen and Lenalee were off to investigate what was reported as a forty-five percent change of innocence in China. Kanda and Lavi went in search of a level three akuma in Belgium, Germany that was wreaking havoc. Since there would likely be many level one akumas, and likely some level two's as well, they'd be meeting up with Krory and Miranda at the port before taking a ship across the North Sea. Bookman, oddly enough, would be staying behind. He'd claimed he had found interest in some of the Order's books.

Since Allen and Lenalee also had to cross the North Sea to catch their own transport, they'd be going together, but split up once they arrived; they'd arrive just in time for Allen and Lenalee to catch their own, speedy train, but the others would have to await the next one.

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

In the one week it took for Allen and Lenalee to arrive at the place in question, Kanda's group had decimated the akuma force that had awaited them. Miranda and Krory had proved extremely more useful than anyone had thought they'd be - Krory had gone rather strangely happy after the first ten or twenty akuma and had easily begun killing them in swoops. Miranda had been the most likely to fall since she was a supporting exorcist, but since Krory had been with her, it had all worked out.

Kanda and Lavi had both begun to lose their tempers when their kind hosts had been killed, but when the level three akuma had finally come out of hiding, they'd surpassed themselves, literally tearing the killing machine into pieces.

When the level three akuma had fallen, most of the level two's had begun to flee - which left them unshielded and open for attack. They'd died shamefully easily. The level ones had gone next, dying quickly.

As the least injured of their group, Kanda had left them behind. They would return to headquarters, and he'd go to China, and, more importantly, to Allen and Lenalee. If they were done, he'd likely meet them halfway. If they'd not yet completed their mission, he'd help. It took him five days to reach them, seeing as he was closer than they had been, and he had his own rather unconventional means of speedy transport. On the fifteenth, the date of his arrival, he found Allen and Lenalee sipping tea in a supporter's home. One of the servants had seen him and associated him with the two, happily leading him to them.

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

They'd made little to no progress and were happy to see Kanda. All the same, they didn't find anything definite until the eighteenth. From that lead, they'd spent the next couple of days unearthing far too many akuma to be normal. In the end, they'd been forced to fight their way through three or four waves of akuma before being half-killed by a pair of level three's.

It had taken Kanda and Lenalee to take down the first one, leaving Allen to face the second. It took time, but the two were able to subdue their own akuma, though Lenalee was knocked unconscious. With a combination attack from Kanda and an exhausted Allen, the remaining level three akuma was utterly destroyed. It was already the twenty-third.

Two days were spent simply recovering from their more severe injuries before they started back to headquarters. They arrived on May second.

Kanda was very nearly sent on yet another mission to add to his record, but when Komui had suggested it, he'd been granted looks of pure anger from young Allen, and Lenalee - angry, but with a calm face - took him aside and explained exactly what had happened and stressed that he was to send another exorcist. Or else. While it was certainly true that Kanda was the least injured of their group, no doubt due to his special ability, he'd also gone straight to Allen and Lenalee, and thus was the most weary of them. Certainly, he managed to hide his fatigue as well as ever thanks to the many years he'd spent emotionally frigid.

Komui had sent someone else, and all had been quiet.

_Tick... Tock... Tick. Tock..._

Quiet as it was around the large building, Kanda would have been a fool if he hadn't noticed Allen's actions. The white-haired boy had started acting strangely since their return to the Dark Order's headquarters. At first, he'd been unhealthily happy, but he'd suddenly become morbidly depressed.

It was confusing to say the least, and all of Kanda's probing and cautious questions were met with casual, "It doesn't matter's," and "Don't worry about it's."

Needless to say, it was driving the Japanese teenager absolutely crazy. Kanda was very much used to getting what he wanted when he wanted, especially when it happened to be information, and was to be drawn from people smaller than he. With Allen, he'd had no such breaks. He wasn't able to intimidate the boy into giving him an answer, nor was he able to hint at it. He couldn't trick an answer out of the boy, and when he'd tried to force it out, Allen had very easily batted him out of the way with his Innocence-imbued arm.

_Tick... Tock...Tick. Tock. Tick..._

It was a scowling Kanda that seated himself in the mess hall with his familiar bento of soba and chopsticks. He could still feel the bruise from the blow he'd received. The worst part of it was that he didn't even have the heart to blame Allen, since he _was _in the wrong, trying to demand answers that he didn't earn.

It was quite irksome, knowing that the boy was so resilient, but that, Kanda supposed, was what made him love him. So it was that he ate, a dark cloud on his face warning the Finders and other exorcists away from him.

Fortunately for him, there were always at least one or two that never seemed to obey the rules. Both Lenalee and Lavi had approached him at the same time. Without asking, they'd seated themselves. Kanda had grunted in reluctant acceptance. He'd learned that it was very much impossible to force the ever stubborn Lenalee to move without harming her, and even then, she'd easily reprimand him and his attacks with her winds. Lavi, though, simply never seemed to learn.

And it was Lavi, though he seemed reluctant - probably remembering their revenge on All Fools' Day - who spoke first.

"What's up, Yuu?"

Kanda simply glared, carefully slurping more of his soba noodles. He didn't bother giving the redhead an answer, deeming it unimportant, and silly. In short, it wasn't an issue he intended to share, particularly not with the loudmouthed, redheaded Bookman.

He seemed to take the hint and fell quiet. He certainly didn't fall silent, as his eating was far louder than the conversations around them.

Lenalee was next. "Kanda, what happened?"

Again, he ignored the question, simple downing more soba, glaring at the oblivious and loud male teenager that sat with them.

Lenalee nodded, a serene expression laying itself out on her face. She understood. Lavi was the one that Kanda wished to remain blind and deaf to his business. She'd simply ask him again when the redhead wasn't there.

_Tick... Tock. Tick. Tock. _

It was much later when she finally got a hold of him. It was in the corridors, after the two with unusually colored hair had retired for the night.

"So, what happened?" she asked him once more.

"Nothing." he responded, continuing his walk to his own room.

"Don't lie to me." she scolded him.

"Who says I'm lying?"

"It's obvious. Look, you're even saying things you normally wouldn't say. If you were lying, you just wouldn't mention anything and let us think whatever we wanted." she expressed her concern. "So tell me what's wrong."

He sighed, shoulders relaxing only slightly. "It's Allen."

She followed suite, sighing as she nodded. "I figured as much. He's the only one whose able to get you so riled up. Is it something he said?"

Kanda shook his head. "It's something he hasn't said."

Lenalee frowned, jumping to conclusions. "You can't force him to love you." she told him gently.

He frowned, wondering what she meant, before shaking his head. "That's not it. I've come to terms with that already."

"Then?"

"Allen has been... strange. He was excited when we returned from our mission on the second, but he became depressed just two hours later and has remained depressed since. It's been two days now, and I can't figure out what's wrong." his frustration was beginning to show through his mask of nonchalance.

_Tick-Tock. Tick-tock. Tick-Tock._

"Have you tried asking him?"

"What?" Kanda was surprised. And yet, when he thought about it, he found he wasn't as surprised as he thought. Embarrassed, and turned a tomato red, he turned away.

"Let me guess - intimidation, force, and your usual methods?"

Still turned away, he nodded sharply.

He heard her sighing behind him.

"Next time ask him." she said. He could practically feel the smile on her face. A kindly one.

He nodded again. He stood there for a few moments, waiting for her footsteps to fade away.

Then, he promptly changed his destination to that of the ever-constant teenager.

_Tick-tock-tick. Tock-tick-tock. Tick-tock-tick._

Rapping on the door, he awaited the opening of it almost anxiously. As he waited, a sense of deja vu swept across him, making him bite his lip in nothing short of bitterness.

Still, when the sleepy, tousle-headed boy opened the door, it was all he could do to not let the words spill out.

"Kanda?" the boy blinked. "What is it? What do you need?"

"Er... What's wrong?" Kanda asked, fidgeting a bit.

Allen blinked again. "What?"

"I asked what's wrong. You've been depressed."

Allen suddenly turned bright red. "Oh! It's nothing important." He made to shut the door.

Kanda frowned, dragging the door open.

"It's important to me." he said, voice stern. "Now tell me what's wrong."

Allen sighed. "Come in." He stepped back, giving the Japanese boy the space to enter.

Kanda took the offer eagerly, curious about both the room and the problem that ailed the teen.

"It's actually pretty stupid." Allen admitted, teeth worrying his bottom lip.

Kanda sighed. "It can't be as stupid as me when I was trying to get it out of you before."

The parasite-type equipped exorcist frowned. "Is that what you were trying to find out?"

Kanda turned red again. "Er... yes?"

"Just ask, why don't you?" the boy demanded.

"Lenalee suggested it, so I am, now." Kanda told him. "Now stop evading the question."

_Tick... Tock... Tick-tock._

"Er... Children's Day." Allen muttered beneath his breathe.

Kanda blinked, before calculating the date. Allen was right. May fifth was Children's Day.

"I'm fifteen, so it's stupid and all, but I can't help but want to participate, even if I _am_ too old for it." the white-haired boy continued on.

"It's fine."

Allen blinked. "You won't tell anyone?" he implored, his expression that of a child worried about being teased.

"Don't worry. I won't tell." Kanda promised. "Now go to sleep." He stood up and quickly left the cursed boy's room, not even hearing the farewell the boy called after him.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

And the next morning, when Allen found his room filled with food, he was ecstatic. When he found that the mess hall had been prepared for a party, he was overjoyed. It was with tears of happiness in his eyes that he thanked the black-haired exorcist, knowing that it was only he that could've done all that he'd done.

Even if it meant that Kanda _had_ told people about his wish for Children's Day.


	6. Father's Day

Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Hoshino-san.  
Warnings: This IS a MALE/MALE pairing, so if such things disturb you, or bother you in any way, you should stop reading.  
Summary: In which the holidays are explored with the tidbits and the drama of the Kanda/Allen we all love and adore. Yaoi. This will only be updated on holidays that _I _recognize. Which means that if I know it, I'll probably write it if I have time, or care. Readers should mention closer holidays in reviews for faster updates.  
Next Update: Next update is likely to be Christmas, unless other, closer holidays are introduced to me.  
AN: I'm very, very sorry for the delay. My grandfather passed away on Mother's Day, and it didn't seem right to be worried about posting something online at the time. I did, however, miss the deadline I'd set for myself, so I threw in a little tidbit here. I also apologize for the length of this chapter. I feel it's shorter than my usual chapters, but I haven't really checked. I blame it on the nervousness I'm feeling. I'll be going on a ten day trip, and it sounds like a harrowing experience from what I've heard. Well, wish me luck, and please enjoy the chapter.

**In A Year  
_Father's Day  
_**by: Kagome-reincarnation

Celebrations from their most recent party - Children's Day - had finally died off at least; they'd been going for almost three days now. Headquarters was always finding a way and reason to celebrate, or, to be more exact, to get drunk.

It was nearing five in the afternoon when Lenalee caught sight of the strangely ellusive Kanda. At first, it seemed as though he'd spotted something through the large majestic windows. After all, why else would his gaze become so intense? Only two things truly caught the Japanese exorcist's attention, and because she knew that Allen was in the cafeteria, she activated her Innocence - the Dark Boots - as she apporached.

The whispers of her boots reassured her, and as she moved with the ease of a fighter as she stood next to the Japanese exorcist. She attempted to follow his line of sight to what she assumed would be the Akuma, and was admittedly relieved to see nothing, and her Innocence wasn't reacting in the way it did when it sensed its enemy near. She flushed red from embarassment. What kind of exorcist was afraid of meeting the enemy? Relief came because her previously gained injuries still hurt, but that shouldn't have affected her. Irked at her behavior, she sighed.

Within moments, she sighed again, her aggravation with her ineptitude biting at her as she deactivated her Dark Boots.

Kanda blinked. He turned left and right, seemingly regaining his bearings. He seemed a tad bit surprised to see her. Of course, it being Kanda, and her presence being only a small surprise - she managed to appear at the strangest times - he only blinked a couple of times.

"Do you need something?" he asked her, not unkindly.

Surprised by the uncharacteristic expression he held and the abnormal amount of concern in his voice, she shook her head before wordlessly drifting back to her original route, thinking.

Kanda blinked again before both sighing and shrugging. Again, he trained his eyes on the horizon to the east.

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

The next person to come by was Lavi, and he was only amused by Kanda's seeming lack of presence. The ever conscious fighter was clearly lost in thought. He thought for a moment, and realized why. "Missing your home land?" he asked his friend.

Kanda simply nodded. He'd realized Lavi was there after a couple of jiffies had passed, and he'd realized the redhead intended to stay, at least for several minutes, when the carrot-top opened his mouth to speak.

"Missing your mother?"

Kanda blinked, and Lavi knew it was true. He'd known Kanda long enough to differentiate between a blink and a yes blink and a no blink. He'd just known Kanda that long.

"She's fine." he continued, "And she's thinking of you, too."

"I'm sure she is." Kanda simply nodded.

"But it doesn't stop you from missing her, right?" Lavi told him.

"You're right. But this is foolish." Kanda said, stepping away from his place at the window. "I need something to do. I'm going to see if an missions have come in." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away from both the window to his home and mother, and away from Lavi.

* * *

It was exactly one month and four days from Mother's Day, and Kanda was still gone.

Allen sighed. Today, it was his turn to gaze out of the window. He had no real idea of where he'd been born, and since he'd traveled with Mana frequently, there was no telling when he was born. However, today, he hadn't bothered thinking of such things.

He didn't wonder whether his father had left his mother or if they both lived happily or anything like that. No, not today. Instead, he thought of his own close companion. Kanda was a good guy, and Allen couldn't help but wonder what had happened to his father. His father must've been a good and strong man to have raised Kanda. Kanda was fortunate. At least he may have known his family.

"Allen?"

He turned. It was Lenalee.

"Why do I suddenly have a rather ill-boding feeling?" he asked, not really asking her. Every time he'd seen her over the past couple of months, there had been an ulterior motive.

The girl frowned. "Who knows?" She brightened quickly. "Anyways, come with me!" she said, before grabbing one of his wrists to drag him off, down the hall.

_Lenalee's a lot stronger than she thinks!_ Allen thought unhappily as he felt a shiver go up his spine.

* * *

"Reever!" Lenalee called. "I've brought him with me!"

Allen, still caught in thought, was torn from his confused musings when he heard the squeak of Reever's turning chair and saw the bright red, very revealing, and utterly terrifying dress that he held.

There was a rather awkward silence.

Then, "What... is that?" he asked, his feeling of impending doom only growing stronger.

"Oh, nothing really." Lenalee said. "But we needed to get you to make sure it would fit."

"_Fit_?" Allen's voice went up a few octaves. "Why would it need to _fit_? And why _me_, of all people?"

"Because you'll be wearing it!" Allen started twitching at that voice. When had Komui entered?

"Why?" he asked, the word painfully drawn out.

"There's a dance, and the female to male ration didn't match." Komui explained.

"So why am I going to be in a dress? You can't get someone else to do this?" Allen asked, his eyes becoming rather desperate.

"No one else volunteered."

"_I_ didn't volunteer!" Allen shouted. His voice had yet to return from it's journey up to visit with the sopranos.

"Lenalee blinked. "But you're the most feminine." she shrugged.

"What does it matter?!" he demanded. "I don't even want to go!"

Lenalee's eyes took on the hurt, sad look that Allen couldn't possibly reject. After all, she'd picked it up from the puppies he so often tried to take care of.

Allen gasped, appalled. "What? No-" Then, he sighed. "I'm guessing my partner's already been decided?"

"Yes!" Lenalee cheered. "Thank you!" Allen disappeared in the vast space called a body-crunching, oxygen-depriving hug.

"You're welcome, I think." he responded in his regular voice, though it _did_ seem a bit strained.

* * *

It was two hours and lot of pin pricks later that found Allen in the mess hall. He was feeling very sorry for himself, and Lavi wasn't anywhere near. Fortunately, though, he had the opportunity to hear of the upcoming dance from the conversations around him. It was, apparently, a summer dance to celebrate another spring gone.

He couldn't help but shake his head. It really did seem that the people of headquarters did everything they could to ensure that there were parties and dances and such things constantly. He wondered why.

"Probably bad habits picked up from Master." he finally muttered to himself, before taking another plate of food. He'd already devoured six or seven plates of exotic dishes, and he was moving on to the second set of foods - these were from Asian countries, and consisted of Korean, and Chinese food, though the majority of it was Japanese.

It was delicious. Quickly finishing his feast, he began to rove the halls again, restless.

Fortunately, when Lenalee came looking for him again, she'd come to tell him of a mission. It was one of the first times that Allen was happy to be going on a mission. After all, if the alternative was a dress... Yes, he was indeed happy.

* * *

Allen Walker was depressed. A mission that should lasted beyond the dance had been cut short by several weeks. Apparently, he'd been on Kanda's route back to headquarters, and while he was certainly happy to see his friend again, he was tearful at the thoughts of the dress. The bright red, revealing dress.

When he returned, though, he was only too happy to hear that the headquarters had been attacked and the decorations and such destroyed. He wondered if it hadn't been Lavi or some other exorcist that had to wear a dress. Whatever the case, he was relieved, despite that people had been injured. Fortunately, no one had died. It freed him from the fearsome, red scrap of clothing, so he didn't mind.

What he did mind, however, was when people told him, only several weeks later, that he would indeed be put into the dress. However, it was entirely up to him - he'd either wear it at the fashion show that several of the women had put together, the dance that was coming up - it was to celebrate the end of summer - or at the Christmas ball.

Ever sensible, he chose the Christmas ball. It was the farthest off, and he'd be able to happily forget about the dress until then. Perhaps they would even get more females finders or exorcists by then!

It was with great cheer that he went to the dining hall, but it was with a depressed cloud of rain that he left it. Kanda had been in a turquoise dress in the cafeteria, and no one knew why. It was very disturbing, and definitely not a sight anyone wished to see ever again.

With the ever-unchanging shocked expression he held, he listlessly returned to his room. It took an hour in the bath to changes his expression back to that of contentment. The baths were always very nice. He sighed, happy.

Of course, no one knew what was bound to come next. There had been far too much peace and quiet for a great deal of people, and some of them were itching to do something. Some of them would feel the itch later on, but the itch was there, and it was bound to cause some form of havoc.

Innocent Allen was used to being content, and he was spared of the itch, but it went around, and tempers flared. Allen seemed to be the only cure for those with the itch, if only because of the calm he radiated.

That calm would soon come back to bite him, and it would hurt when it did.


	7. All Hallow's Eve

Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Hoshino-san.  
Warnings: This IS a MALE/MALE pairing, so if such things disturb you, or bother you in any way, you should stop reading.  
Summary: In which the holidays are explored with the tidbits and the drama of the Kanda/Allen we all love and adore. Yaoi. This will only be updated on holidays that _I _recognize. Which means that if I know it, I'll probably write it if I have time, or care. Readers should mention closer holidays in reviews for faster updates.  
Next Update: Next update is likely to be Christmas, unless other, closer holidays are introduced to me.  
AN: Please thank buchouslvr for reminding me of Halloween. I'd entirely forgotten. XD

**In A Year**  
**_All Hallow's Eve_**  
by: Kagome-reincarnation

_Trick or Treat..._

_--  
_

Yet another festival was coming into play; it seemed that the many people at Headquarters simply couldn't keep themselves occupied long enough to work... Which was actually a fairly good explanation for why so little ever got done. This time, it was in celebration of All Hallow's Eve, a long-standing traditional festival in which the lines between the living and the dead were blurred. It's entire name was actually 'All Hallow's Evening,' but it had been shortened to 'All Hallow's Eve.' Allen swore that he knew others that called the event Halloween.

Allen was always a mess come All Hallow's Eve, so the entire set-up of the festivities was, in a sense, reversed. Instead of being calm as he had been in the previous months, Allen was excited. Instead of the calm sense of feeling that he'd exuded for so long, he was entirely taken over by the eagerness to get at and eat sweets and food. He knew that the tables were laid out and creaking from the weight of food, but he wondered if the Black Order would do any souling.

What was souling? Why, it was the gathering of foods and treats on November first in compensation for prayers for the dead on November second. Allen wasn't quite sure, but somewhere along the line, the line had been blurred, so the festivities often took place on October thirty-first, which the Catholic church had deemed as All Saints' Day.

He pondered the idea, but shook his head, before grinning. He had seen a splotch of turquoise on a painting in his room and brought his spirits up. Though no one had known why it was that Kanda had been wearing that dress, Allen had later found out that it had something to do with Komui and a 'god damned machine that had better not try to get near me ever again.' The look on the older male's face, though, was entirely priceless. So priceless, in fact, that it had cost Allen over two hundred European Euros to get a hold of a photo. It was the only one, but well worth its money.

Kanda would never know why Allen snickered in the halls whenever he saw Kanda pass the portrait of one of the former generals of the Black Order. The portrait itself was of a woman - wearing a turquoise dress. In fact, Allen was still surprised to see the portrait up there day after day. He would've thought that Kanda would've figured out the reason for his snickers and happily destroyed the painting by now.

As it was, the two of them were freshly costumed - as was the rest of the Black Order. Allen wore a black top with black slacks and even more black dress shoes under a white lab coat. Around his neck was a false hospital ID - as you may have surmised, 'Allen Walker, exorcist,' was 'Allen Walker, doctor' for the day. Kanda though, had been a bit more interesting.

Allen would've sworn something was up - he and Kanda were the only matching characters in the Black Order. While he was a doctor, Kanda was his patient. In short, they'd been efficiently paired up for the entire event. Though, thinking about it now, he should've known something was up - Lenalee and Lavi had planned the event, and Lavi had been out to get revenge since the first of April.

Not that he was complaning. Nope, not at all. After all, Kanda looked delicious enough to eat. He blushed at the thought, glad he was alone.

But my, oh, my... Kanda had his pants on, but they were low slung - low enough that you could tell he wasn't wearing underwear. His ribs were ripped, hiding his delectable muscles, but that didn't bother Allen much. Who could be bothered over muscles when Kanda was exposing so much skin? He'd had to constantly remind himself to not drool.

The two of them had been forced into costumes before anyone else - rather, Lenalee and Lavi had hunted them down... Much like how the tire had hunted Mary down. Anyways, Lenalee had more or less barged into Allen's room early in the morning -

--

_You're so neat...._

--

"Allen, let me in right this minute!" Allen woke groggily, surprised at the sudden banging on his door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he mumbled sleepily. He took the three steps necessary to open the door, only to have it burst open to the full capacity of the poor, innocent, Lenalee-abused hinges. Jolted awake, he stepped back wearily, "Wh-?!"

Too late, she'd entered the room. And shut the door. And locked it. And now she was glaring at him. Evilly.

Allen gulped. Hadn't this happened before? He felt much like a mouse cornered by a cat. An evil, conniving cat.

"Can I help you?" he asked both wearily and warily. What was she holding in her hands?

She shoved the clothes at him - "Put these on!" she demanded. "Hurry, Allen. We don't have time to waste!"

Disoriented and confused, Allen took the clothes she shoved into his arms, still sleepy. When he comprehended her orders, he nodded. "Er, okay?"

She sat down in his chair and crossed her legs, waiting expectantly to see motion. Allen blushed.

"Um, Lenalee...?" he muttered cautiously.

"Yes? What is it, Allen?" she asked sweetly, looking up at him with those dangerous eyes of hers.

He gulped. "Er... You told me to change..."

"Yes; yes, I did."

"I'm a _guy_." he told her.

She blinked, as if she were confused.

"And? What does that matter?"

"Lenalee, I'm a guy. You're a _girl_. And you just told me to change. And then you sat down."

She looked at him. Allen shifted uncomfortably. Oh, she knew what she was doing. She knew very well. And she was enjoying his squirming.

"What's your point, Allen?"

Allen blushed a deeper red. "I'm going to change, Lenalee. As in... I'll be taking off my clothes. And I'll be in my underwear. And you're not leaving my room yet!"

Lenalee giggled. "I know, Allen. I was wondering how long it'd take you to tell me to leave."

Allen scowled, still a bright red. "Out, you!" She was still giggling as she left. In fact, Allen could hear her giggling all the way down the hall.

--

_Give me something good to eat..._

--

Lavi, though, had a bit of a more hazardous, dangerous battle to fight with Kanda. Rather, he had an entire war to fight... in which there was one him and a million angry looking Kanda clones staring evilly at him.

Okay, so there really was only one... But Kanda looked really mad that he'd woken him so early. The other boy's hair was hanging low and his bangs were covering his eyes.... And his posture was a dangerous one... Kanda looked as though he were more than ready to take hold of his precious Mugen and send a couple of his Illusion techniques at him.

"Er.... Anyways...." Lavi tried to explain his reason for waking Kanda on a holiday - a day of sleeping in - at such an ungodly hour.

Kanda glared at him. Lavi winced. Explaning things _so_ wasn't working.

Finally, the red-headed boy tapered off with, "I knew I should've made Lenalee come instead."

The Japanese boy glared up at Lavi through his bangs. "What. Do. You. _Want_?" he demanded of the other teen forcefully.

Lavi squeaked before thrusting the bandages into Kanda's arms. "Lenalee says to wrap that around your waist and come to Allen's room!" he rushed out, before turning tail and running for the hills - or, to be more exact, Allen's room.

Kanda, looking at the bandages and materials that went with them, scowled. He'd just finished healing from a break - he'd been more than happy to be able to take the stupid things off - and now he had to put them on again?

He considered ignoring the request... But decided against it. Lenalee was sweet, sure enough, but she had a dark side that no one wanted to see. He mentally winced as he remembered her sudden personality changed. Shuddering, he went back into his room, shutting the door as he resigned himself to wrapping himself.

--

_Nuts and candy...._

--

When he finished wrapping himself, Kanda put a comfortable button up shirt on, covering the bandages, and traipsed to Allen's room. As he moved down the hall, he could hear the loud voices and what sounded like Lenalee scolding Allen. Kanda sighed, bringing a hand up to massage his temple. It seemed that a lot of chaos would be occurring. Lenalee scolding someone - anyone - in the morning was often a sure sign of it.

He rapped sharply on the door when he arrived. Said door squeaked open to reveal the three within it - it seemed Lavi had adjourned to Allen's room as well.

Before he could get so much as a word out, Lenalee was in front of him, poking her index finger into his chest. Surprised, he stepped back. When she followed him, still poking him in the chest, he kept moving back, step for step, until he was backed up against the railling.

"Wh-what is it?" he asked, off kilter.

She frowned at him. "Why aren't you wearing the bandages?"

He blinked. Was that it? "I am wearing them." He pulled his shirt up to show them to her.

Lenalee smiled. "Good!" Before promptly dragging him back into the room.

--

_Fruit and gum..._

--

The first half of the day went fairly normally, save for the few people asking them why they were already dressed up and the decorations up everywhere. The second half of the day, though, was a little different. Lenalee had cornered the two of them before forcing them to change once more - this time, Kanda was dressed in normal clothing, but Allen was dressed as a little miniature detective. Complete with handcuffs.

Before Kanda's mind could run away with the handcuffs idea, Lenalee slapped them on him. Appalled and confused, he gaped at her. "What are you doing?!"

She looked at him for a moment, thinking. Lavi sighed. "You've just made it worse for yourself, friend."

Kanda blinked, confused. Then Lenalee uncuffed one hand - just the one - and immediately trapped Allen and cuffed one of his.

"What?!" he was utterly confused. Then, looking at Kanda and the handcuffs, he blushed. "Lenalee!"

"What?" she asked him, her expression far too innocent.

He sighed. "We're.... not getting out of this, are we?"

She grinned evilly. "Nope. No way in hell. Not even if the akuma show up."

"As challenging as that would be... I'd like to practice that on Level Ones before going to the levels that dare to attack the headquarters, okay?" he rubbed at his temples.

"Sounds fine to me." Lenalee said, grinning. Then, she took the key and slid it under her shirt, and into her bra.

The three males had very different reactions. Allen blushed and looked down, but Kanda sighed. Lavi, meanwhile, was now blatantly staring at Lenalee's chest.

"What's the purpose of this, anyways?" Allen asked curiously.

Here, Lavi cut in with a false-sounding explanation. "It's to help your relationship build up!"

The two handcuffed persons simply blinked at him. Lavi grinned weakly. "Right...?" he turned to Lenalee for confirmation.

The girl nodded eagerly.

Kanda grew wary, and worried. If they wanted to deepen their relationship, it meant that they wanted them to start dating... After all, they were already great friends. It didn't get any deeper than becoming lovers... Except maybe marriage, but that was something entirely different. As he thought, he realized something.

He didn't want to be rejected again.

--

_I'll go away if you give me some._

--

As the day wore on into night, Kanda was still musing. Finally, his concern for Kanda overwhelming his sense of nosiness, Allen asked, "What's wrong, Kanda? You've been quiet since around lunch time."

Allen couldn't think of anything that might have happened - except being handcuffed together. But Kanda hadn't seemed too angsty or angry about it then. Had he perhaps done something wrong?

"...to you."

Allen blinked. "Come again?"

"I'm tired of being stuck to you." Kanda said, his expression carefully blank and his voice monotone.

The white-haired exorcist was struck by the words. "Oh. Oh, I see. Well, let's go find Lenalee, then."

Allen thought he was doing a remarkable job of keeping his voice and actions level. In fact, no one could tell that he felt as though he'd just been hit in the gut by Lavi's Oozuchi Kozuchi. He chatted amiably with those they came across, and for some reason, Kanda kept getting frustrated. More and more so as he waited for Allen to start searching for Lenalee again.

Finally, he growled and simply went, dragging Allen behind him.

"Kanda, wait!" the boy cried out from behind him. In response, Kanda tugged extra hard on the handcuff, if only to encourage Allen to hurry. "Kanda! Kanda, wait, will you?"

The Japanese teenager didn't slow down. If anything, he sped up. Allen stopped protesting, simply allowing himself to be dragged by the metal that was cutting into his wrist. He could feel it bleeding, but it didn't matter. Something was wrong with Kanda. Obviously, the older male wasn't thinking properly or he'd have stopped and realized that Allen was bleeding by then. But he hadn't.

Either Allen had done something very wrong or Kanda was just off. Thinking about it, though, Allen decided it was his own fault. If he hadn't taken so long to seek out Lenalee, it wouldn't have come to this. But he had to admit it. He didn't mind being tied to Kanda, so when the Japanese male had finally come out and said that he was tired of it, it was a major blow to the younger boy.

When they finally found the female exorcist, she silently handed the key over. She watched as Kanda uncuffed himself and toss the key at her before she caught it and slapped him solidly across the face.

"You're a fool." she said icily, before she led Allen away.

Even as the shocked Kanda was being watched by the surprised Finders, he watched her lead Allen away. It was then that he was struck by how small Allen's shoulders seemed. As if the boy was being swallowed up by the space around him, almost. Lenalee was fairly tall compared to the boy, and his head was bowed.

_What....?_


	8. Christmas

Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Hoshino-san.  
Warnings: This IS a MALE/MALE pairing, so if such things disturb you, or bother you in any way, you should stop reading.  
Summary: In which the holidays are explored with the tidbits and the drama of the Kanda/Allen we all love and adore. Yaoi. This will only be updated on holidays that _I _recognize. Which means that if I know it, I'll probably write it if I have time, or care. Readers should mention closer holidays in reviews for faster updates.  
Next Update: Next update is likely to be New Year's Day, unless other, closer holidays are introduced to me.  
AN: Okay, guys... It's actually not a mistake that I didn't do Thanksgiving... Because D. Gray Man takes place, for the most part, in the European areas. I probably should've mentioned this somewhere earlier, but in Europe, Thanksgiving wasn't Thanksgiving... It was a normal day. Especially in that time period. America didn't happen until later on.

**In A Year**  
**_Christmas Day_**  
by: Kagome-reincarnation

_O little child so near the tree,__  
The precious view you clearly see...  
Adorned in white, a glistened sight;  
A chilling warmth, it's nearly night._

_--  
_

Hours passed. A day. Two days. A week. A month.

Kanda was unable to bring himself to seek the smaller boy out. He wasn't sure of what it was that he'd done wrong, but he felt guilty all the same. The image of Allen's hunched shoulder's, his body becoming smaller and smaller as Lenalee escorted him away stayed with him. He couldn't stop thinking about the way she'd called him a fool and slapped him across the face. She'd scratched him with the key she'd still had in hand. At first, Kanda had been angry about it... But that quickly changed.

How? Really, it's quite simple. Kanda, being the stoic, immovable teenager that he was, simple found Lavi. And kindly asked what had been wrong with Lenalee. Okay, so it had been more like 'threatened,' but that didn't get him the answer he'd wanted. Rather, Lavi seemed a bit upset with him as well.

"Do you have any idea of what you've done?" the redheaded boy had asked him, exasperation and disappointment in his voice. Kanda was used to exasperation from the boy - but certainly not disappointment. It disturbed him.

"No. What did I do?" he retaliated, unsure of what to say or do.

"Allen."

The one word made him stop. His breathe froze in his lungs and for a moment, he stood even more still than did stone.

"What's wrong with him?" the Japanese teenager asked, breathing again, albeit a bit shakily.

"Lenalee's upset."

Kanda blinked. "_What?_" How had Lavi just made the jump from Allen to Lenalee?

"You hurt Allen. Avoid Lenalee." Lavi explained for him. "She will kill you. And laugh at your corpse."

The Asian simply stared at him, blankly. "What?"

Lavi simple shrugged. "Okay, so the laughing part was just me - but she'll kill you, Yuu."

Kanda twitched slightly at the use of his first name... For a moment, he debated on whether it was worth the annoyances to keep Lavi alive. In the end, unfortunately for him, he decided that inside information on Allen and Lenalee was more important.

"What did I do to Allen?" he finally asked, curious.

The Bookman-in-training only looked at him. "You really don't know?"

Kanda shook his head. "If I knew, I wouldn't be asking, would I?"

"You told him you were tired of him." Lavi finally said. "And you cut him."

Now Kanda was beyond confused. "When did I ever say that? Or _do_ that?" He had no recollections of telling the boy he was tired of him. Nor did he remember cutting him.

"I never said anything such th-" he cut himself off, his eyes flashing.

--

_Excitement grows within each eye;  
A splendid match, so bright yet shy._

--

_I'm tired of being stuck to you._

The statement revertebrated through his mind.

"Shit."

Lavi looked at him curiously. "I take it you _did_ say something, then."

Kanda sighed. "I told him I was tired of being _stuck_ to him, not that I was tired of _him_."

The other exorcist winced. "Kanda, I don't know if anyone told you, but telling anyone that you're tired of anything to do with them is normally an extension of saying you're tired of that person."

Kanda felt the blood in his heart freeze over. "_What?!_"

His strangled cry was heard several floors up, where Lenalee and Allen were lounging about Allen's room, just talking.

--

_You make each wish, each secret part,  
A ray with God, so fills your heart._

--

Allen started a bit.

Lenalee motioned for him to lie back. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure that idiot is up to no good."

Allen flinched the slightest bit before lying back as she'd bade him to do. While Kanda might've been caught in a web of confusion, Allen was caught up in a web of conflicting emotions. He was sure that Kanda had a reason - a good one - for being so harsh. Yet, he couldn't think of anything that he might've done that was so serious, aside from lingering in conversations a bit longer than was necessary. He sighed as he stared at the ceiling, wishing things didn't have to be so complicated.

Lenalee set her book aside, carefully placing her bookmark in the yaoi novella. "This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

Allen turned towards her, puzzled.

"I mean, in February, it _was_ you that turned Kanda down, right?" she put the question forth in the form of a statement.

Allen nodded, but as he did so, he also remembered the event. Staring at the ceiling, he remembered how nervous Kanda had seemed, and how anxious. He wished he could've changed things. Now, after having spent time and shared living space with the older exorcist, he'd realized that Asian teen was still very much in love with him... But that had dwindled. And what was worse? His own feelings had only grown. He'd always liked Kanda, and he'd fallen in love with him when he realized that the older boy's angry exterior was just that - an exterior. He'd discovered Kanda's own inner kindness quickly enough, and now... He'd lost any chances he might've had to become part of it.

"Allen?"

The cursed boy started, a bit surprised at the sudden interruption from his musings. He turned to look the girl in the eye again.

"Why'd you turn him down?" she asked quietly. Her eyes, though a bit subdued, looked him straight in the face, and her body language gave off the impression of seriousness. No joking and no distractions would pull her from the question.

"I..." Allen was at a loss. What should he say? What _could_ he say?

Picking up on his obvious discomfort, Lenalee nodded to him. "You can answer after you think a bit, but I'm sure there was a reason."

Immediately, Allen realized his mistake. By not claiming that he'd not loved Kanda, he'd told her that he did have feelings for the other teen, and in remaining speechless, he'd told her there was another reason. Even as he mentally cursed himself, a distant part of him wondered when he'd grown so noteful of such things.

"I don't know what you mean." he finally said, but the lie sounded flimsy even to him. Lenalee only raised a single eyebrow at him, and he sat up. Flinching slightly, he said, "I didn't want to get in his way."

Lenalee nodded at once, understanding what he meant.

"His special person, you mean?"

Allen nodded.

"He gave that up a long time ago, Allen." Lenalee told him. "He practically threw it out the window the first time he laid eyes on you."

Now, Allen was staring at her.

"What?" she demanded, a bit annoyed. "His 'special' person was you."

At this, Allen stopped. His breathe caught in his throat, and he felt the world shrinking towards him as he squeaked out an attempt at a word. Clearing his throat, he tried again: "What?"

Lenalee rolled her eyes at him. "Allen Walker, I'm saying that Yuu Kanda was looking for his important person, and that person was you."

Allen felt his head droop even as he brought his hands to his face. "Tell me you're lying," he pleaded. "Please."

Though he couldn't see it, he knew Lenalee was shaking her head as she spoke, her tone almost mournful. "Kanda was looking for someone to love, Allen - someone that he wouldn't have to worry about protecting that he knew he could rely and depend on."

"And he found that in _me_?" Allen was ashamed to admit that his voice cracked in the asking of the question.

Lenalee nodded, meeting his eyes.

"I-I can't!" Allen sputtered, blushing furiously. "He.. I... It doesn't make sense!"

"You're fighting this," the female exorcist said disapprovingly. "Obviously it won't make sense - you don't want to believe it."

At her sharp words, Allen stopped and let the logical part of his mind return. "Oh, god."

With full understanding in his eyes, he could feel something inside of him breaking. "This... It means that I should've just said yes when Kanda confessed, doesn't it?"

Sadly, and almost regretfully, Lenalee held his eyes as she nodded. "I'm sorry, Allen." she whispered to him.

Allen stood, needing to think. "I... I think I'm going to head to my room. I need to think."

Lenalee stood up at once, slightly alarmed. "I'll go with you," she offered.

The white-haired boy shook his head. "It's okay. I need to think alone." he told her, a small smile telling her that he didn't hold anything against her for telling him everything so late. "I won't do anything stupid."

It was with solemn eyes that Lenalee watched him go. She'd distressed Allen and she felt guilty. Yet, stronger was the sensation of lightness. She'd told him of Kanda's feelings. While she'd said nothing of her own part in the plots to get the two together, now that everything had been turned upside down - Kanda had blatantly shown he no longer desired Allen at the Halloween party - she was unsure of what she should do. Unfortunately, there was nothing that she _could_ do. It had gotten to the point that the two people in question - Allen and Kanda - needed to sit down and talk things out with each other.

--  
_Your wants are small, unselfish child,  
Not to be wrapped, branded or styled._

--

It was a long time before things changed - even slightly. For the next month, the two still avoided each other like the plague, never mind that they both knew they were wrong. It didn't matter. Kanda couldn't bring himself to speak with Allen, and Allen couldn't bring himself to speak to Kanda. Though the cuts from the handcuff that Kanda had so harshly yanked on had scabbed over and healed, Allen still found himself, feeling for the tiny wounds; his last connection to the man he so dearly loved.

It was lucky that so few Akuma were active during the winter months. No one wanted to freeze to death, and fewer still were able to cope with both the weather and the growing tension between the two best exorcists.

It was just after Christmas when, finally, an exasperated Komui called Lenalee and Lavi into his office, instructing them to bring Krory and Miranda.

--

_A world of hope, filled full of peace,  
A caring call, let love increase.  
_

--

"This has got to stop." he told them, his eyes caught between determination and insanity. It was the look he got when he was planning the build of another machine, and the look he got when he thought someone was getting too close to Lenalee.

Miranda nodded her agreement, her tired eyes still managing to somehow stay bright. All the same, she couldn't help but ask: "What can we do?"

"Allen and Kanda haven't been speaking to each other," Lenalee said, "So that would be the first step."

"Getting them to talk?" Lavi blinked, a bit surprised. He'd thought the two were at least exchanging words in the halls or something, but to hear they'd been avoiding each other was a small shock.

"Allen has holed up in the library for the past week now, and Kanda hasn't returned from the training rooms yet." Krory interjected, knowing the information would be necessary. "The two of them will have to bathe at some point, and that time will be coming soon."

"So we'l lock them in there together." Komui decided, snapping his fingers.

"I suppose it could work." Having already meddled in their affairs, Lenalee was wary of what their actions could bring about.

"The timing must match." the time exorcist muttered. "Allen should be there before Kanda arrives, because-"

"Because if Allen sees Kanda there, he'll leave, but Kanda wouldn't be held back by that kind of thing." Lenalee exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "That's perfect!"

"Lavi, you go get Allen," Lenalee nodded to the hammer-weilding exorcist. "I'll go get Kanda."

--

_Next year this child so wants to be  
Back out to watch, this growing tree_

_What of our wants as time goes by  
Will hope and peace and love climb high_


	9. A Second Valentine's Day

Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Hoshino-san.  
Warnings: This IS a MALE/MALE pairing, so if such things disturb you, or bother you in any way, you should stop reading.  
Summary: In which the holidays are explored with the tidbits and the drama of the Kanda/Allen we all love and adore. Yaoi. This will only be updated on holidays that _I _recognize. Which means that if I know it, I'll probably write it if I have time, or care. Readers should mention closer holidays in reviews for faster updates.  
AN: Internet doom... Blah. When I got the internet back, my comp crashed... And this made me hafta get a new comp... Which is beautiful, by the way - a delightful, chrome laptop - but I'd lost the chapter. On top of that, I was at Katsucon - and utterly exhausted. In compensation, though, I've made this chapter a little longer. Mind you, once I'm done with this, I'll probably revise at some point. Enjoy!

**In A Year**  
**_Valentine's Day_**  
by: Kagome-reincarnation

Lavi breathed freely - his last several encounters with Kanda had not been painless, and Allen was much less likely to threaten to kill, maim, injure, destroy, or make life difficult. Slightly more cheerful than he'd been before, he'd gone to fetch the boy - only to find him not there. Oxymoron? Oh, yes. Frowning, he'd searched around. Seeing as the library was, more or less, his domain, along with the panda, it was strange that he couldn't find the boy. Finally, he was forced to conclude that Allen had already left the library.

Irked, and slightly confused, he checked Allen's room - no such luck. He tried several other locations, but he still couldn't find him! He was frowning when he headed to the training grounds - at least, until he saw the cursed boy leaving them.

"Allen!" he called, jogging to the boy so as to not lose him again.

The younger boy's head turned to see who had called him, craning in a way that looked almost painful.

"Oh, hello, Lavi." he said, smiling tentatively. "Do you need something?"

Lavi blinked, the story he'd made up fleeing his mind. "Er - actually, I was going to ask you if you'd seen Kanda anywhere?"

Allen shrugged, a faraway glow appearing in his eyes as his tentative smile wavered. "He's still in the training grounds, but I think Lenalee's already gotten him to head for Komui."

The red-head blinked again, a bit confused. Head for Komui? But the only reason that would happen is if Kanda had a mission... Which he definitely didn't. Then again, if that's what Allen thought...

"Ah. Well, I'll grab you instead, then." the boy said, shrugging slightly. "After all, we'll all be going together."

Allen paled. "Er, are you sure? I mean, couldn't you take Miranda-san? Or Krory?" He seemed to have grown smaller - and a bit frightened.

"Sorry - it's gotta be you. C'mon, I'll take you to the baths, and we'll head up, okay?"

If possible, the boy paled even further. Lavi briefly wondered if he'd go invisible.

"I c-can't! Kanda will be in there, too!"

"I'll go with you - then nothing will happen, ne?"

Allen shook his head, forlon. "I don't want to. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can stand looking at him again."

Lavi frowned. "Weren't you the one that turned him down in February?"

Allen breathed in sharply, before slowly nodding. "Seems like everyone's been saying that to me lately," he said softly, his voice slightly bitter.

"It's because no one understands why you're so upset." Lavi said, shrugging. All the same, it wasn't as though he was oblivious - even he could tell that Allen was upset again. "Come on, to the baths with you. No matter what you say, a good soak will make you feel better."

Alex sighed deeply. "I can't get out of this can I?" he asked weakly, attempting to grin.

Lavi, very much disturbed by Allen's poor cheer, almost felt bad for what he was about to do. Yet, having been Bookman's apprentice for so long, he knew to reign in his emotions. Instead, he simply tossed a grin that was twice as large as usual - to make up for Allen's feeble attempt - and grasped the teen by the shoulder.

"Nope."

-----

-----

Kanda was annoyed. First, he'd been confused, and then concerned. He'd ignored Lavi's advice and simply gone about as usual, trying to seek out the boy he still loved so deeply, and yet he couldn't find hide nor hair of either - Lenalee _or _Allen. And then, when he last wanted to see either of them - he'd been burning off his anger and frustration in training, never mind that he knew it was bad for him - Lenalee appeared.

"Kanda!" she'd called out sharply.

He'd dropped his boken. Of course, it wasn't that he hadn't noticed her because he was so caught up in his emotions, which he actually was, but that she had appeared out of _nowhere_! It was a secret that none of the exorcists or finders knew the answer to - she'd be in one place for all of one minute, and then she'd pop up where you least expected her to! If anyone figured out the secret, they could likely win millions with the dark order's pooling society.

He turned towards her, gruffly spitting out a single word: "What?"

"Komui wants you."

Wordlessly, Kanda picked up his boken and began walking towards one of three doors - the one that was closest to Komui's.

Noticing this, Lenalee quickly added more: "Take a bath first! You smell!"

Now, it wasn't an intentional insult - and Kanda didn't take it as one. It was unfortunately true. Since he'd been training for so long, he smelled of sweat, dirt, tree sap, and leaves. And more sweat.

Although he didn't say anything to her, she knew he'd acknowledged her words when he headed for the door connecting to the baths. As it was, she found herself holding back a snicker.

-----

-----

Lavi observed his companion as they stripped down. Although he hadn't said anything, it was obvious that Allen was nervous. His hands were trembling.

"I'm sure he's not here yet." he said, trying to reassure the boy.

Allen looked up, startled. "What?"

The red-head pointed at the boy's hands. "You're shaking."

Allen blushed, immediately shaking his head. "I'm not afraid!" he said strongly.

Lavi only raised an eyebrow. Allen shuddered. "Okay, I'm scared out of my wits."

The older boy only nodded, both understandingly and triumphantly. Allen had no idea how he'd managed to blend the two.

"It's alright. Come on - let's go."

And with that, he pulled Allen towards the large, cascading waters that made up the exorcists' baths.

He got in right away, and yanked the younger boy in after him. Then, he sat back, soaking for a moment. When he noticed that Allen was looking back at the door, much like a rabbit about to bolt, he splashed the boy with the hot water.

"Wh-what?!" Allen sputtered, blinking to keep the water from falling into his eyes. "What was _that_ for?!"

Lavi only grinned mischeivously. "Come on - let loose a bit."

The cursed boy did as he was bid, albeit reluctantly.

Lavi, being in a position to see inside the locker rooms, realized that Kanda had arrived. He stood languidly, showing Allen that it was okay to relax. "I'll be back - we left the soap and stuff in the locker room."

Allen, still nervous, nodded.

Still, Lavi knew that Allen hated to be a nuisance. He played on that.

"You going to be okay?" he asked the boy.

Allen sat up abruptly. "Of course I will! I'm not a baby!"

Lavi chuckled. "If you say so. I'll be right back."

As he headed for the locker rooms, he knew that Allen wouldn't look towards them because the boy was trying to prove he wasn't a pansy.

-----

-----

Kanda simply glared at the red-head when he saw him in the locker room. All at once, he realized that the whole thing had been a set up - but for what?

"What do you want?" he demanded lowly, eyes drilling holes in the other exorcist's head.

Lavi only raised his hands in surrender. "Calm down, Yuu."

Kanda growled, but before he could say anything, Lavi continued to speak.

"Allen's out there. Go sort things out with him. I'm heading to the showers. Be careful, Kanda. No one wants to see him get hurt again."

Lavi shrugged, grabbing his clothes. "Besides, no one knows what Lenalee will do to you if you blow this last chance."

The Asian exorcist nodded, eyes no longer glaring. Rather, they were grateful. _He_ was grateful. He'd been trying to get a hold of Allen for forever and a day, and now was his chance.

As Lavi turned to leave, Kanda couldn't help but to try: "I... Is..." he clenched his fists, forcing himself to say it, no matter how painful it was to get the words out. "Did he love me?"

The hammer-wielding exorcist only grinned at him. For a moment, Kanda felt depressed, but then Lavi tossed a thought towards him.

"Would he be so upset if he wasn't in love with you?"

-----

-----

Allen tried to stay still - really, he did - but then he grew restless. As long as he didn't know how long Lavi was going to take, he felt he should be allowed to droop all he wanted. As it was, he ducked under the water. He figured he'd distract himself by seeing how long he could hold his breathe. Who knows? Maybe Lavi would think he ran off and leave him alone or something.

Thirty seconds... He came up for air, tossing his head back to breathe the wonderful substance in. Then, he tried it again. Several tries later, he managed to get up to about a minute.

The last time he came up, he decided he'd surpass sixty seconds or stay in the baths until he did.

This time, however, when he ducked his head under the water, Kanda saw him.

And promptly freaked out.

"Shit, Allen, don't do it!" he'd cried out, running forward to drag the boy out of the water. "Don't do it, it's not worth it!"

Allen was disoriented. Majorly. He wondered if he'd counted wrong underwater and it was actually over sixty seconds and he'd passed out and was dreaming... Or maybe he was hallucinating and Lavi looked like Kanda? Or maybe the red-head had tried to dye his hair and grow it all at once?

The white-haired boy shook his head, trying to clear his senseless thoughts away. When he looked up, he realized that the man that held him in his arms wasn't Lavi at all, but a very concerned, very freaked out, undoubtedly nervous Asian exorcist.

"Um, Kanda?" he muttered, trying to get the man's attention.

Kanda, having been busy outlining the finer points of life and why suicide wasn't worth it, stopped immediately. Then, he opened his mouth. And shut it. He repeated the process several times, before finally sighing. "Yes?"

"I wasn't going to kill myself."

"Oh." Kanda blinked, before promptly blushing a vibrant red. "Oh."

Allen was amused. His earlier anxiety was already forgotten, and it felt like old times, when the two had hung out together. "I was trying to see how long I could hold my breathe underwater."

"Oh." Kanda uttered the word again. Didn't he feel stupid now?

Yet, it didn't go unnoticed by either of them that Kanda had yet to let Allen go.

Upon noticing this, Allen tried to get out of the hold Kanda had on him. Instead of releasing him, however, Kanda's grip tightened.

"Kanda, shouldn't you be letting go right about now?" Allen asked, embarrassed.

Immediately, he crushed the boy to his chest. "No." he said, his voice heavy. "No."

Allen, having had the breathe squashed out of him, barely had the oxygen to speak, and speak he did. "No?" he asked in a surprisingly high-pitched voice. Then again, it being Allen, it might not have been such a surprise...

"No." Kanda affirmed. "Never again!"

Allen was confused, and that confusion quickly melted in anger and a maelstrom of other emotions. "Let go of me!" he cried out, trying to get away from the Japanese exorcist.

"No!" Kanda's grip changed with Allen's protests, carefully cradling the boy securely in his arms.

It took some time, but Allen _did_ finally cease his struggling.

"Why?" he finally asked, his voice strained with hurt and confusion. His expression was that of pure desperation.

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I never meant to hurt you." Kanda explained. "I'm sorry. I love you."

Allen only cried, but they both knew he wasn't crying from hurt or joy. He was crying because he was being overwhelmed by the words that Kanda had uttered. "No! No, that's wrong!" he cried into Kanda's bare chest. "You said you were tired of me! You were angry with me!"

Kanda felt horrible at Allen's words. He'd never meant to hurt him so damned much! He held the younger boy as close as he could, and nuzzled the top of his head. "I'm sorry, Allen, I never meant it... I didn't think it would sound that way - I only meant the chain!"

At a loss for what to do, he finally said the words that he subconsciously knew the boy needed the most. "I love you, Allen; I never _stopped_ loving you!"

Though the boy didn't stop crying, he could feel Allen's hands tentatively - almost nervously - encircling his waist.

Some moments later, as the two simply held each other, Allen finally spoke.

"Do you mean it?" he asked, gazing up into Kanda's eyes, as if searching for any hint that might say that the older boy was lying to him.

"I mean it." Kanda said strongly. "Every single word of it."

And this time, when the tears came, they were purely from joy as Allen threw his arms around Kanda's neck, clinging to him. "Thank you!" he sobbed happily. "Thank you!"

-----

-----

They went back to normal - and Kanda had realized that Allen had never said that he had feelings for him... So he acted as a friend to the younger boy, staying constant.

Of course, when they discovered that Komui had been behind the whole thing, they'd gotten a bit of revenge as well - they'd set Lenalee up on a long awaited date with Lavi... Far out of Komui's range.

A month passed, and then came February seventh. Lavi and Lenalee were going out as steadily as exorcists could, turbulent jobs and overprotective brothers being quite difficult to juggle, especially when Komui planned them to be in different locations so often... but when Lenalee had some words with him, he saw the light and let them be.

Reeve later revealed to the staff that he'd been forced to spend several hours calming the chief down, and he'd been blushing. Vibrantly.

Lenalee will forever tease him for that.

-----

And Kanda had no hopes for being 'together' with Allen in the romantic sense... But Allen had other, very different plans. He'd gotten help from Lenalee, and he'd made Kanda some soba - courtesy of lessons from Jerry - and even wrote a letter professing his feelings. Still, he felt that the letter was cheesy and the soba wasn't enough. When he admitted this to Lavi, Lavi sent the message to his girlfriend, and Lenalee arranged a shopping trip.

On the eleventh, they went to town - Lenalee and Allen went their way, and Lavi and Kanda went another. Krory and Miranda had declined the shopping excursion, excusing themselves. As a result, they were forced to endure Lavi's ponderings on the two and if they were secretly conducting a relationship away from their eyes - until Lenalee stepped in.

Really, won't anyone step forward with the secret to Lenalee's power? Those at the Black Order would like to know!As a result, Allen purchased a surprisingly strong katana for Kanda - one that _wouldn't_ suck away his life-force when he used it.

-----

And then came Valentine's Day. As if to parallel the year before, Kanda found himself smartly rapping on Allen's door. Admittedly, he was nervous, and a bit fearful. He didn't exactly have the best of memories when it came to Valentine's Day. Especially not with that goddamn door.

"Yes?" Allen answered the door quickly. He blushed vibrantly when he saw it was Kanda, before opening the door wide. "Er, come in."

The gifts he'd procured were safely hidden, stowed under the bed, and he was fretting. Valentine's Day was supposed to be a day for lovers and whatnot! Pink, red, white, and all of the romantic notions people had were supposed to come out! And he'd gotten his lover a sword. Allen was mentally beating himself over the head with a frying pan that had eggs in it.

"...I br-" Kanda cut himself off, looking away as he carefully sat at the foot of Allen's bed.

"Hm?" Allen blinked, carefully checking to make sure that the blanket he'd thrown over the presents was still covering them. "Come again?"

"Er... I-I..." Kanda blew out, frustrated. Allen glanced up and grinned. He thought Kanda was adorable at moments like this, when they were alone, and the older boy would force himself to do or say something embarrassing, just for him.

"What is it?" the parasite-type exorcist asked innocently.

Kanda gave a few more valiant attempts, but finally gave up and simply muttered, "Here," before staring pointedly at his feet.

Allen recognized the small box. It was the same one from last year, wrapping and all. The one he'd never opened, but returned. He looked at Kanda, who still wouldn't meet his gaze.

"You didn't throw it away?" he said, voice shaking slightly.

"Of course not," the other boy said, still not meeting his gaze. "How could I bring myself to throw it away when it belongs to you?"

To Allen, it was more. Instead of just a simple present or whatnot, the fact that Kanda had kept it so long proved and symbolized the constant love that he'd harbored for him. He carefully set it on his desk.

"Hold on a second," he said, smiling happily. "I've got something for you, too."

-----

Whatever the case, for the greater part, the exorcists were paired off... Well, some of them, anyways.

On the flip side, however, Komui became more... _inventive_, per say, as to his new robots and inventions. Fortunately, it wasn't the science and research department that got caught up in it, but poor, innocent, little, red-haired Lavi. One would think that Lenalee would step in, but to his dismay, she left him to his own resources. What? It was never said that she wasn't scary... And on top of that, the only person the machine seemed to lock onto was Lavi. Of course, when it began to interrupt their '_strike!_' time, she intervened. Brutally.

However, it wasn't too far down the line that Miranda caught Reeve massaging Komui's shoulders in the office. Of course, the news spread like wildfire, and some rumors just happen to be self-fulfilling. That's right - Reeve and Komui ended up in a relationship, though both of them would be more likely to say it was just to get rid of stress. But when Lenalee finally got the chance to corner her brother - she'd sent Lavi to take care of Reeve, and he'd picked up quite a few things from the girl - she pulled the truth from both of them. They were utterly in hot, steamy, guy-on-guy love. Admittedly, she hadn't really wanted the details; she might've been a collector of all things involving yaoi and shonen-ai, but it didn't mean she wanted to know certain things about her brother or his lover.

Of course, they couldn't always partner up, so there were always changes in routine. When Allen and Kanda went without each other for too long, though, things tended to get a bit gloomier and more frightening at the headquarters, so Komui got into the practice of trying to at least allow them a little bit of time with each other. The akuma kept coming, and the exorcists kept fighting. The finders kept supporting and dying in turn, and the play between the Earl and the exorcists came to an end. A rather pretty end with lots of clouds and explosions and red liquidy stuff that most people consider to be blood, but could really probably eat through steel.

-----------

AN: And there's the end of that. Depending on how this is received, I might add an epilogue or something. Who knows? Perhaps an omake as to what exactly was Kanda's gift to Allen... Or how did he recieve Allen's gift? Ack. I'll have to start working on revisions at some point, too, but I'll mark them if they've been revised, as well as add a little note. Thanks for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed it. Feedback is wonderful! I won't improve if I don't know what to fix!

Kagome-reincarnation


End file.
